Wrapping machine



J Feb'. 9, 1943.

H. B. TU"I"HILLI EIAL 2,310,719

WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 21, 1938 12 Sheets-Sheet 1 Howaxd LTuflxiNHam Caddwe Feb. 9, 1943.

Fi led Dec 21, 1958 B. TUTHILL ETAL V 12 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 9, 1943. H.B. TUTH'lLL ETAL WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 21, 1938 12 Sheets-Sheet 38 M Q N a 3 a 0 j/ I s. o o 00 N o 7 d o o o o 0 o o v I e a o o I n Q qa [I m a o o I I a n I A o a k 0 V r, a u Io r? o I n o c a O r a o m 00 m c Q O 0 a, V O V O o N\ a o u) -O o o a (2') O a m a 0 0 O N O o m oB a N M odo o 7 a a O \hven'kox I 5 fioflard B. ILTH mg rum .Ai ma Feb.9, 1943. H. B. "VI'UTHILL ET AL WRAFP ING MACHINE Filed Dec, 21, 1938 12Sheets-Sheet 5 Ibu I 6 U E- 6. E

Feb. 9, 1943.

H. B. 'TUTHILL ET AL WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 21, 1938 12Sheets-Sheet 6 \nvgnjjom wand .Tuihi v TY .EQJMB.

Feb. 9, 1943. H. B. TUTHILL ET AL 2,310,719

. WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 21, 1938 12 Sheets-Sheet 7 owavd g. Tu 1HWm F Cakwd' Feb. 9, 1943. H. B. TUTHILL ET AL WRAPPING MACHINE FiledDec. 21, 1958 12 Sheets-Sheet 9 Feb. 9, 1943.

H. B. TUTHlL L ET AL WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 21, 1938 12Sheets-Sheet l0 HUN H. B. TUTHlLL ETAL 1 ,71

WRAPPING MACHINE Feb. 9, 1943.

12 Sheets-Sheet 11 Filed Dec 21, 1958 am ,w m 5 -224- 2 4. j 35 C I 7 UI] [T J LB j .33 i. --W. .T

4" 22 ll g 24 16 nvenTmis F \2 0v rd .TuThH Han \dw l Feb. 9, 1943.

B. TUTHILL ET AL WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 21, 1938 l2 Sheets-Sheet 1237 35' II I 38 l L I I I I I IIIIIII'I II 40 ,i {I M20 5 39 \hven'ibvsHex/AIME- Ian 'FCaIdweL mi M A Patented Feb. 9, 1943 WRAPPIN MACHINEHoward B. Tuthill and Harry F. Caldwell, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignors,by mesne assignments, to Oliver Machinery Company, Grand Rapids, Mich, alimited partnership of Michigan Application December 21, 1938, SerialNo. 247,063

34 Claims.

This invention relates to wrapping machines. It is particularly adaptedto wrap loaves of bread which are somewhat irregular in shape but willalso operate to wrap other articles such as packages of uniform shapeand size.

The invention provides a machine having many new and useful featuressuch as convenience of arrangement resulting in minimum 'fioor space,speed and accuracy of adjustment to accommodate different sizes,articles, means for adjusting the length of the wrapper while themachine is in operation, means for adjusting the length of time in whichthe wrapped article is heated for sealing the wrapper, readyaccessibility for cleaning and repair, and various other new and usefulimprovements hereafter more fully described and particularly pointedoutin the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings inwhich,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a wrapping machine embodying thisinvention having a bread slicing machine atttached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of thewrapping machine.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the driving clutch and infeedconveyor and associated parts.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of that part of the mechanism in whichthe wrapping of the article occurs including the elevator and paperfeeding and folding mechanism showing the elevator in lowered position.

Fig. 5 illustrates the parts of Fig. 4 showing the elevator in raisedposition.

Fig. 6 is a sectional plan of the machine above the infeed conveyor andbelow the elevator.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the paper feed end of the machine.

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional elevation on the line 88 of Figs. 2 and 4with the pusher moved forwardinto view.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary section illustrating the papergripper.

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional elevation illustrating themotivating parts and omitting variousother parts.

Fig. 11 is an elevation of a part of the side of the machine oppositethat shown in Fig. 1 with parts broken away, illustrating various partsof the mechanism.

Fig. 12 is an elevation of the infeed end of the machine with a part ofthe outfeed conveyor removed.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary plan view of the driving clutch.

Figs. 14 and 15 are fragmentary elevations of 5 which may drop into anotch in the disk l6 thus the end tucker mounting means.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a partially wrapped package, and

Fig. 17 is a plan view of the elevator casting.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the variousviews.

As above stated, the machine may be used to wrap loaves of bread whichare somewhat irregular in shape but it is perfectly adapted to wrapother articles such as rectangular packages of uniform shape and size.The articles to be wrapped may be placed by hand-into the machine orthey may be delivered into the machine by some article preparing devicesuch as a bread slicing machine shown and described in our copendingpatent application filed June 15, 1938, Serial No. 213,806. For thepurpose of illustration the said bread slicing machine is illustrated inFig. 1 as a means for delivering articles into the wrapping machine butsuch a slicing machine forms no part of the present invention.

The machine has a main frame I. The bread slicing machine is indicatedgenerally as 2 and has a delivery table 3 from which loaves of bread aredeposited into the wrapping machine.

In the lower part of the wrapping machine a conveyor is located whichcomprises a table 4 upon which articles are deposited and endless chains5 at opposite sides of the table 4 between which extend conveyor bars 6.(Figs. 3 and 6) The chains 5 run over spockets 'l and 8 at therespective ends of the table 4.

The machine is actuated by a main driving shaft 10 which is constantlyrotated from a gear reducing mechanism ll driven from a suitable sourceof power such as an electric motor I2 and a belt l3. (Fig. 12.) Themechanism which constitutes the gear reduction mechanism H forms no partof this invention, it merely being necessary that the drive shaft 10 beprovided with.

means for continuously rotating it at the proper speed.

All parts of the wrapping mechanism excepting the final conveyor beltswhich carry the wrapped articles from the machine and a certain belt foroperating a paper tightening mechanism, are operated through a singlecycle clutch l5 which is normally inoperative and when engaged is drivenby the shaft 10 (Figs. 2, 13). 15 comprises a notched disk l6 fixed tothe shaft ID. A cam I! arm a sprocket wheel 18, fastened together, areloosely mounted upon the shaft 10 adjacent the disk ii and an arm I9 ispivotally This clutch connected to the sprocket l8 and has a pin 20forming a driving connection between the shaft III, the sprocket I8 andcam l1.

A bell crank 2| is pivoted to a fixed part of the machine and has a cam22 on one of its arms which is normally in a position to lift the pin 26out of engagement with the notched, disk l6, a cam roller 26a beingprovided on the pin to engage the cam. The opposite arm of the bellcrank 2| is connected with mechanism by which the cam 22 may be loweredto permit the pin 26 to drop into anotch of the disk l6 causing thedriving connection above mentioned.

The mechanism for engaging this clutch comprises toggle levers 23connecting an arm of the bell crank 2| with a fixed part of the machine.A vertical bar 24 having a weight at its lower end is joined to themiddle portion of the toggle levers 23 and extends upwardly where it isconnected to the armature 25 of a solenoid magnet 26. The weight on thebar 24 normally holds the toggle levers 23 in extended position movingthe bell crank 2| to lift the cam 22 into the path of the cam roller260. so that it will raise the pin 26 out of engagement with the disk IEto disengage the clutch.

Trip fingers 21 are pivoted beneath the conveyor table 4 and extendupwardly through it near its entrance edge where they are engaged byarticles deposited upon the conveyor and when so engaged the tripfingers 21 will be depressed.

A so-called mercury tube contact breaker 28 is attached to the tripfinger assembly and is caused to rock as the fingers are moved and it isconnected in an electric circuit comprising conductor wires 29 so thatwhen the fingers are depressed the circuit will be closed. Theseconductor wires carry an electric current from a suitable source to thesolenoid magnet 26 which is energized when the circuit is closed. Thismercury tube contact breaker or switch is well understood by thoseskilled in the art and its specific construction and operation needs nodescription.

By this mechanism an article deposited onto the conveyor table 4 willdepress the trip fingers 21, cause the magnet 26 to be energized whichwill lift its armature 25 and the bar 24 and change the positions of thetoggle levers 23 moving the bell crank 2| to lower the cam 22 permittingthe pin 20 to drop into a notch in the disk l6. When the article hasbeen moved from the trip fingers 21 by the conveyor, as hereafterdescribed, the fingers will raise by action of. a weighted part of theirstructure causing the electric circuit to be broken in the mercury tubewhich will deenergize the magnet 26 and the weight on the bar 24 willmove the parts so that the cam 22 will be replaced in the path of thecam roller 20a and upon completing a rotation the clutch will bedisengaged. This replacement of the cam 22 occurs before the roller 26!!has made a complete revolution with the disk l6, so that the roller willengage the edge of the cam when it reaches that point and the pin 26will be lifted out of engagement with the disk. The cam H, which ismounted loosely upon the shaft Ill, is provided with a cam groove in oneof its faces (Figs. 3, 12 and 13) A gear segment 35 is pivoted to theframe at 36 and is provided with a cam roller 31 which extends into thegroove of the cam l1 and when the cam rotates it imparts an oscillatingmovement to the segment 35. The segment 35 meshes with a pinion 38loosely mounted on a shaft 39 extending transversely across the machineand two spaced apart sprockets 6 are fixed to the shaft 39. The pinion38 is of the sprockets 3 and a pawl 40 mounted in the hub of thesprocket 8 is adapted to enter a notch in the body of the pinion 38 toimpart one way rotation to the shaft 39 through the sprocket 3.

The chains 5 pass around the sprockets 8 and are driven thereby and alsoaround the sprockets at the upper end'of the conveyor table 4 and theconveyor bar 6 extend between the chains and sweep along the uppersurface of the table 4 as the chains are moved to convey articles thathave been placed on the table before them and into the wrappingmechanism. As the cam I1 is rotated it will first move the segment 35downwardly and mounted on one end of shaft 39 adjacent one 76 the pawl46 will engage the notch in the pinion 39 and rotate the sprockets 8 anddrive the chains 5 in a counterclockwise direction. On upward movementof the segment 35 the pawl 40 will release from the pinion 38 which willrotate freely on the shaft 39.

An elevator indicated generally as 45 (Figs. 4, 5 and 7) having a table46 is mounted to have a vertical reciprocating movement from a lowerpoint, where the table 46 is in alinement with and adjacent the innerend of the conveyor table 4, to an elevated position. The elevator 45 isprovided at its respective edges with blocks 41 which traverse tracks 48mounted on the respective side members on the frame of the machine whichguide the elevator in its reciprocating movements. A casting 49 projectsdownwardly from the elevator and is connected at 50 to the swinging endof a frame 5| which is pivotally mounted at its other end to therespective side members of the frame of the machine at 52 near the rearend thereof. Between its ends the frame 5| carries a cam roller 53 whichrides upon the peripheral face of a cam 54 fixed to a shaft 55. When thecam 54 is rotated it acts, by the above described mechanism, to bothvertically reciprocate the elevator and to change the plane of the table46 during reciprocation so that in its lower position it is in aninclined plane in alinement with the conveyor table 4 and in its upperposition it is in a horizontal plane.

The shaft 55 is driven from the shaft l6 by a chain 56 passing aroundthe sprocket l8 heretofore described when the sprocket l8 together withthe cam H are rotated by engagement of the clutch also heretoforedescribed. The chain 56 passes over a sprocket fixed to the shaft 55.The sprockets on the respective shafts l6 and 55 over which the chain 56passes are of the same size thereby causing equal rotation of saidshafts. A single rotation of each shaft occurring during each cycle ofoperation of the machine.

It will therefore be apparent that at the time of engagement of theclutch in the position shown in Fig. 3, the cams being rotated in aclockwise direction, the segment 35 will begin its downward movementcausing a counter clockwise rotation of the shaft 39 and the pinion 38,which will cause a conveyor bar 6 to move a package onto the plate 46 ofthe elevator 45 which will be in its lower position at this time asshown in Fig. 4. Immediately after the package has been moved on to theelevator the segment 35 will begin its downward movement and the roller53 will have moved to its position on the cam 54, shown in Fig. 4, andthereafter will cause the elevator 45 to move upwardly.

The elevator 45 has a portion of its casting 51 extending outwardlytherefrom to which is pivotally secured at 58 a lower plate 59. Onepurpose of this plate will be hereafter more fully described. but forthe present it willbe sufficient to note that fragments of paper, or

- extending through an opening inthe member 49. This rod is threaded atits lower end and has a wing nut 62 thereon which abuts against a boss62a around the opening. When the nut is against the boss, the plate 59will be maintained in its upper position, and when it is desired tolower the plate,- the nut may be loosened an amount sufficient to allowthe rod 6I to move in the opening, thus permitting the plate 59 to dropdown.

At the opposite end of the machine a roll 63 of paper 64 is provided andthe manner in which this paper 64 is fed into the machine and assumes aposition ready t-wrap the package will now be explained. Referring nowmore particularly to Figs. 4 and 5, a drum 65 is provided which ismounted on a shaft 66 and around which the paper 64 passes. Immediatelyabove the drum 65 is mounted a plurality of rollers 61 which are mountedon a shaft 68 for purposes of contacting the upper surface of the paper64 as it passes over the drum 65. A manually operable lever 69 (Fig. 1)operates eccentrics in such a manner that the rollers 67 may be placedeither in av raised position as in Fig. 4 or a lowered position as inFig. 5, in which position they will contact the upper surface of thepaper 64.

By a mechanism which will be presently extate in a clockwise direction.

plained, the drum 65 and rollers 61 are caused to rotate so as to feedthe paper intermittently.

For purposes of guiding and feeding the paper a plurality of belts 1ipass around the drum (Figs. 4, 5 and 7). And around certain of therollers 61 belts 12 are passed. The belts H at their opposite ends passover an elongated roller 13, and the opposite ends of the belts 12 passover the roller 14 so that, as the paper moves forwardly it will beplaced between 'the upper run of the belts II and the lower run of thebelts 12. In the center of the shaft 68 are also provided rollers 61with belts 15 passing therearound, the lower run of which will also bein contact with the paper. It will be evident therefore that when thevarious belts around the drum 65 and the rollers 61 move in a directionindicated by the. arrows in Fig. 4, the paper which has been passed overthe drums will also shaft 66, a disengagement of the clutch will allowthe segment 82 to move upwardly without rotating the drum and hencewithout a forward movement of the various belts and consequent' movementof the paper. At the end of the shaft 55 is secured a crank 66 which haspivotally mounted thereon. at "one end of alink '81. The other end ofthe link is pivotally secured at I 88 to a bracket 89, which is .in turnsecured to the shaft 90 in the frame of the machine. At

a point 9| on the arm 81 is pivotally mounted one end of'a link 92, theother end of which is secured at 93 to an interiorl'y threaded block 94.

Through the block 93 is passed a threaded rod 95 in an opening of thebracket 89. The outer end of the rod 95 is secured to a crank 96, theturning .of which will move the block 94 throughout the length of theopening in the bracket.

This portion of the mechanism is merely a.

means to regulate the length of the stroke of the segment 82 and aconsequent control of the amount of paper to be moved over the drum v 65during each operation. From the foregoing it will be seen that arotation of the shaft I0. when the clutch I5 is in engagement, willrotate the shaft 65 by means of the sprocket chain 56, which will inturn cause the crank 85 toro- The rotation of the crank 85 will cause anupward movement of the link 81; the bracket 09, the link 92, and lastlythe segment 92. Upon a completion of one revolution of the crank 85thesegment 82 will have returned to its position as shown in Fig. 10,and when the previously described clutch I5 is disengaged, furthermovement of the segment 82 will be prevented. It is clear that the samelength of paper will not be used for all sizes of packages and for thisreason it becomes necessary to provide some means to regulate the lengthof a strip of paper which is fed into the machine. The mechanism whichprovides this purpose has been explained above and it will be obviousthat upon turning the be moved in that direction. Since the paper is tobe used in comparatively short strips and therefore cannot be fedcontinuously, it is necessary that the paper be fed only at intervals.The mechanism by which this paper is intermittently fed will now bedescribed.

This part of the description refers more specifically to Figs. 4, 6, 'land 10. At a point 00 on the frame is pivotally secured the end of anarm 8| which is integral with a gear segment 82. At one end of the drum65 (Fig. 7) issec'ured thereto a gear 83a which is enmeshed with asmaller gear 84 on the end of the shaft 68. The gear 83 is enmeshed withthe gear segment 82, and there is an overrunning clutch mechanism, whichallows the drum 65 to be rotated only on a downward movement of thesegment 82 crank 96 to force the block 94 to an upper position, it willact to shorten the stroke of the gear segment 82. x

, When the paper is fed through the machine between the belts 1I and 12and the rollers 13 and 14 the elevator 45 must be in its upper posi tionso that the paper will be fed between the 4 lower plate 59 and an upperplate 91. The paper continues through the tunnel provided by these'upper and lower plates and passes between the rollers 98 and 99. Whenthe desired length of paper has been fed through the-machine a knife I00is actuated to move upwardly past a second blade I01 to cut the paper atthis point. .The cutting blade I00 is mounted on a casting generallyindicated as I02 which is pivotally mounted on the frame at I03.Extending from the bottom of this casting is an arm I04 which haspivotally mounted thereon a roller I05 which is in contact with the edgeof a cam I06, which cam is also mounted on the shaft 55 adjacent the cam54. The cam I06 may be circular with the exception of a small portionthereof which extends outwardly as at I01. The cam is so mounted on theshaft that at the proper time this extension I01 contacts the roller I05and raises the knife blade I00 to cut the paper at the proper point.After the paper has been cut the segment 82 will be raised inpreparation for moving another length of paper in position for beingcut.

plates 59 and 91 and between the rollers 98 and 99. In order that thepaper can be moved between these rollers it is necessary that they beseparated for a brief interval. To effect this separation a flipper I08is provided which is mounted on a shaft I09 (Fig. 9) which allows theflipper to rotate about the shaft as an axis. The manner in which theflipper is actuated will be hereafter more fully described, but for thepresent only that portion which effects a separation of the rollers 98and 99 will be explained. At the rear of the flipper member an element Hextends therefrom. Between the rollers 99 (Fig. 9) is secured a bar III(Figs. 4 and which is hooked around the shaft on which the-rollers 99are mounted and extends rearwardly and upwardly as at H2 and is mountedso that it will pivot about an axis II3. .To this axis and the rod issecured a weight II4 which, under ordinary conditions, tends to keep therollers 99 in contact with the rollers 98. When the flipper I08 iscaused to move upwardly, rotating about the shaft I09, the extension.IIO bears against the lower surface of the weight H4 and forces theweight, the bar III, and rollers 99 upwardly thereby effecting aseparation between the rollers 98 and the rollers 99 to allow the paperto be passed therebetween. In its lower position, as will be seen inFig. 4, the flipper I08 acts as an aid in forcing the package to bewrapped on to the elevator by coming down behind said package.

The mechanism which actuates the flipper is more clearly shown in Figs.9 and 11. On the shaft 55 is mounted another cam H5. A bell crank havingarms IIS and III is pivotally mounted at II8 to the frame of themachine. The outer end of the arm IIB has a roller 9 thereon which ismaintained in contact with the edge of the cam I I5. This contact ismaintained by pivotally mounting to the outer arm I I1 a rod I20, whichpasses through a channel member I2I of the machine and terminates in athreaded portion provided with a nut I22. Between this nut and the rearof the channel member a compression spring I23 surrounds the rod, Thecompression of this spring acts on the bell crank to maintain the rollerH9 in contact with the edge of the cam H5 at all times. An elongated barI24 is pivotally mounted at one end to the outer end of the arm H6 andhas its other end secured to one end of the flipper I08 so that as thecam H5 rotates in a counterclockwise direction from its position in Fig.11 the flipper will begin its upward movement. The cam H5 is providedalong a portion of its edge with a portion which is raised still morethan the ordinary concentric portion, as shown at I25. During the timethe roller is in contact with this portion of the cam the extension IIOwill have lifted the rollers 99 to separate them from the rollers 98...

For a purpose which will be more fully described hereinafter it isnecessary that there be a slight rotation of the rollers 98 for a shortperiod of time during the wrapping operation and to effect this rotationa continuously moving belt and connected to another-sprocket wheel Illwhich is mounted on the shaft to which the rollers 98 are secured. Itwill therefore be seen that the rotation of the shaft I30, by means ofthe sprocket chain I34, will cause a rotation of the rollers 98. At theouter end of the shaft I is mounted a pulley I38 which will engage thepoition of the belt I28 between the pulleys I28 and I29 whenthe flipperis in its lowermost position as shown in Fig. 11. The pulley I33 will bein contact with the belt I28 only during the time when the roller H9 isin contact with the smallest concentric portion of the cam II5 asindicated at I31. Since the belt I28 is'moving continuously, as soon asthe pulley I38 comes into contact with it, it will begin to rotate,causing a rotation of the shaft I30, the sprocket wheel I33, the chainI34, the sprocket wheel I35 and consequently the rollers 98. Itwill'therefore be seen that the flipper I08 acts to separate the rollers98 and 99 to allow the paper to be fed therebetween, it aids in pushingthe package to be wrapped on to the elevator 45 and it also causes arotation of the rollers 98 for as short a period vof time as isnecessary.

The'table 46 on the elevator 45 is provided with a member I38 which isslidable along the table and has a spring I39 connected thereto I28 isprovided which passes around a driven iS a sprocket chain I38 extendingtherearound which tends to force the element I38 toward the receivingend of the elevator. Thus when a package is moved on to the elevator oneedge thereof will be constantly in contact with the element I38 toinsure a sufficiently tight wrapping of the package. From the positionof the elevator as shown in Fig. 5 and after a package has been removedtherefrom and the paper has been passed through the tunnel and has beencut, the elevator then begins its downward movement. At this point therollers 98 and 99 are in contact with the paper and will prevent itsmovement in either direction. When the elevator starts its downwardmovement, the paper in the tunnel will be allowed to slide therethroughso that when the elevator reaches its lower position as shown in Fig. 4,the paper will have a short portion remaining in the tunnel at thereceiving end of the elevator and will extend upwardly toward and willpass between the rollers 98 and 99 so that when a package is pushed fromthe conveyor 4 by the conveyor bars 6 on to the plate 48 of theelevator, the forward edge thereof will come in contact with the paperwhich will become taut as it reaches the position shown in Fig. 4. Themember I38 will also be moved rearwardly by this action and aids inkeeping the paper from becoming loose about the package. At this pointthe paper then completely covers one side of the package and a portionof the bottom thereof. .As the elevator then begins its upward movementit is necessary that the paper be maintained in a taut conditioninasmuch as the package nears the rollers between which the paperpasses. It is at this point that the pulley I38 contacts the belt I28and causes a rotation of the rollers 98 which will move the paper ashort distance as the elevator rises to prevent wrinkling thereof and aconsequent loose wrapping. After the package has moved past and abovethese rollers, rotation is stopped and allows the paper to be pulled outfrom between the rollers 98 and 99.

Up to this point it has been seen in what manner the paper is placedaround the package, and the means by which the ends are folded in willnow be explained. The elevator is provided on when a package is moved onto the elevator it will be moved between these tuckers which havepreviously been adjusted so that the distance between them is equal tothe length of the pack age to be wrapped. It will be evident, therefore,that since the paper is initially in front of these tuckers, themovement of the package on to the elevator and between the tuckers willcause the ends of the paper to fold inwardly about either end of thepackage.

Initially the tuckers I66 diverge outwardly toward the ends whichreceive the package so that when the package begins to enter the areabetween the ends of the tuckers they are spread apart, but immediatelyafter the package has been pushed fully between the tuckers the ends arethen closed so that the two tuckers will be in parallel relationship.This movement is for the purposeof obviating any dimculty which mightarise in getting the package initially between the tuckers. Themechanismby which this motion is accomplished will now be explained withgeneral reference toFigs. 4, and 11, and with particular reference toFigs. 14 and 15.

At the rear of the tuckers I46 and below them in the elevator 45 is ashaft I 4| which extends laterally across the elevator. Immediatelybelowthe tuckers and just outside of the plane of each one is a bearing I42through which the shaft passes and which has an opening in the topthereof for the purpose of receiving a rod I63. This rod extendsvertically upwardly from the bearing I62 adjacent the end of each tuckerI66.

.Extending outwardly from the bottom of each tucker is an arm I54 whichhas an opening therethrough at its inner end through which the rod I'43passes. The upper end of the rod I46 extends through an opening inan armI65 which extends outwardly from theupper portion of each tucker. Thisconstruction is for the purpose of allowing the tuckers to be removedand replaced easily and quickly without the aid of a wrench or othertool, gravity alone keeping them in positoin. A bifurcated member I 46is keyed to the splined shaft MI and extends upwardly therefrom at theouter end of the arm I44, where the bifurcated portion is adapted toreceive a ball portion I II which extends from the is during the timethat the roller I66 is incontact with the portion I52 of less meter-thatthe outer free ends of the tuckers I46 will be diverged. The outer endof the third arm I56 of the Y-shaped mr is pivotally' secured to an armI54, which has pivotally secured-toits other end a short aim I55extending upwardly which has its upper end secured to the shaft MI. Asmall block I56 which is secured to theframe of the machine hasextending therefrom a compression spring I51. This spring is in contactwith said Y-shaped member and acts to maintain the roller I56 inconstant contact with the cam I5I so that when the smaller portion I52of the cam reaches the roller I50 the Y-shaped member will move slightlyin a counterclockwise direction about the end of the arm I48 which ispivoted to the frame. When this occurs, the arm I56 will be moved towardthe left as viewed in Fig. ll thus causing a, clockwise rotation of theshaft I 6|.

After the package has been moved on to the elevator -and has beenpartially wrapped as shown in Fig. 4, the elevator then starts itsupward movement and the paper across the top of the package will passbetween stationary end members I56 which act to fold the upper endportions of the paper downwardly. After this portion has been completedthe package is then outer end of the arm I44. The shaft MI is To be moreexplicit, it will'be noted that in Fig.

15 when the shaft I4I rocks in a clockwise di-. rection the fixed endsof the tuckers will rotate about the rods I43 as an axis which willcause the outer free ends of the tuckers to move away from each other;andwhen the shaft I4! is rocked back to its normal position as shown inFig. 15, the outer free ends of the tuckers will be moved inwardly sothat the tuckers will be parallel.-

The mechanism which is operated to rock the shaft I4I iszclearly shownin Fig. 11. To a portion of the frame of the machine is pivotallymounted an arm I46 of a Y-shaped member.

pushed forwardly from its position in Fig. 5. At this point, members I51are positioned at either side of the upper portion of the machine andtheir front edges I58 will fold the ends of that side of the packageinwardly as the package passes therebetween. At this point the packagewill appear as in Fig. I6. The members I5? have upwardly curved portionsI59 thereon for the purpose .of folding upwardly the remaining portionof the wrapper'as the package is passed between the members I 57.

It will therefore be seen by viewing Fig. 16

that as the package is first moved on to the elevator the paper coversthe forward side of the package and the portion I60 of the ends willhave been folded inwardly. As the package moves upwardly on the elevatorthe paper is wrapped around the top and other side and when it reachesthe member I56 the portion I6I of the ends will be folded downwardly.Then, as the package is moved ofi of the elevator and contacts the edgesI58 of the members 'I5I, the portions I62 of the ends are foldedinwardly. As the package is moved still further and contacts theupwardly curved edges I 59, the remainplete the wrapping of the package.

The pusher member which acts to move the.

package off of the elevator on to the final conveyor for wrapping thepackage is generally in= dicated as I64. The various parts whichconstitute this pusher and the mechanism by which it is operated willnow be described.

In describing the pusher particular reference will be made to Figs. 2,'4, 5, 8 and 11. The pusher itself includes two laterally extendingelongated rods I 64a and I65 positioned in the same horizontal plane. Ateach end of these rods a plate I66 (Fig. 10) is secured and extendsdownwardly therefrom. In the center of the rod I65'is a member I61 whichhas secured thereto and extending downwardly therefrom a plate I68,which plate contacts one edge of the package when it is being pushed offof the elevator. On either side of the member I61 on the shaft I 65 ispositioned bearing members I69 and I III which have depending downwardlytherefrom portions HI and I12, as indicated in Fig. 8. These last namedportions have a configuration as shown in Fig. 8 to allow to allow alateral adjustment thereof, that is, the portion "I has an extension I13thereon and the portion I12 has an extension I14 thereon. The portionsI13 and H4 extend inwardly toward each other and in the same verticalplane so that if it becomes necessary to move the members closertogether than they are shown in Fig. 8 recesses are provided in eachportion to receive the extensions I13 and I14. These portions arepositioned toward the left of the pusher plate I84 as viewed in Figs. 4and 5.

Referring now specifically to Fig. 11, at the outer end of the shaft 90is secured one end ofv an arm I15. This arm is adapted to rock with theshaft 80 and may be either keyed thereto or pinched thereon as shown inthe drawing. To the other end of the arm I15 is pivotally secured oneend of an arm I16 which extends upwardly and is positioned in an arcuateslot I11 which 'is concentric with the opposite end of the arm.

The slot I11 is in a casting which is integral with and extendsoutwardly from a cast gear segment I18 which is pivotally mounted at I19to the outside of the frame of the machine. Near the end of the machineand extending laterally thereacross is a shaft I80 which has a pinionI8I at the outer end thereof and adapted to be enmeshed with the gearsegment I18. Immediately inside of the frame on either side of themachine are positioned sprocket wheels I82 around which are passedsprocket chains I83 regardless of how long a distance it may travel. Inorder to adjust the pusher in this manner the slot I11 is provided. Itwill benoted that since this slot is concentric with the axis aboutwhich the opposite end of the arm I18 rotates, any movement of the upperend of this am in the slot I11 will insure the returning of the pusherto its original position as shown in Fig. 11 regardless of how great adistance it may have moved in a forward direction. This is true becausethe upper end of the arm I18 may be placed nearer to or farther from thepoint I18 each of which extends around a similar sprocket I82a (Fig. 10)near the opposite end of the machine. To the upper run of each sprocketchain I83, as seen in Fig. 8, is secured an angle member I88. To theother portion of each of these angle members is secured the end platesI88 of the pusher. It will therefore be seen that as the shaft 90 rocksin a counterclockwise direction the arms I15 and I18 will be lowered,which in turn will lower the gear segment I18 and cause a clockwiserotation of the sprocket wheels I82 as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5. Thiswill then cause the sprocket chains I83 to move in the directionindicated by the arrow in Fig. 4

and consequently a movement in the same direction of the pusher devicesince it is secured to the upper run of said chain.

Another purpose of the end plates I66 is to maintain the pusher memberin a vertical position. At each side of the machine is positioned atrack member I85 (Figs. 8 and 10) which extends longitudinally of themachine, and at the bottom of each plate I68 and secured thereto arerollers I86 and I81 which are positioned within the track I85. Theserollers, being adapted to run in the track I85 as the pusher is movedforwardly and rearwardly acts as a supporting means to maintain movementof the pusher in a horizontal plane. Also secured to the rod I640. inhorizontal alinement with the .bearing members I69 and I10 on the rodI65 are bearing members I88 and I89 (Fig. 2) which are secured to thebearings I89 and I10 respectively to aid in maintaining the pusher platein a vertical'position.

For the reasons which will be more clearly explained hereinafter, it maybe desirous to vary the distance which the pusher moves in a forwarddirection, although it is necessary that it always return to the sameposition initially about which the gear segment I18 rotates. Viewing themechanism as in Fig. 11 the upper end of the arm I18 may be moved to thelefthand end of the slot. The distance through which the end of the armI16 will move in this position will be the same as when it is located atthe outer end of the slot I11; but since the pivot point is at I19, thesegment I18 will move a greater distance when the arm I16 is at innerposition than when it is at the outer end of the slot farther away fromthe pivotal point, and therefore it follows that the pusher will bemoved a greater distance when the arm I16 is at the inner end of theslot I11 than when it is at the outer end thereof.

Inasmuch as the type of wrapping paper to be used is adapted to besealed by the application of heat thereto it is necessary that after thepackage has been completely wrapped the ends and bottom thereof besealed by the application of heat thereto. To provide for this operationa bottom heating plate is provided and heating elements I and I9I arepositioned at either side of the track over which the package passesafter it has been wrapped (Fig. 2). It is to be noted that these heatingelements are also adjustable toward or away from each other in orderthat they may be adapted for use with packages of varying lengths.Depending upon the type of paper used to wrap the packages, the timerequired to seal the paper by applying heat thereto or the amount-ofheat used will vary. That is, if Cellophane is used, it is necessary toapply a greater amount of heat in order to seal the ends of the packagesthan if waxed paper were to be used. In some instances the time requiredmay be sufiiciently short so that the package may be pushed directly allthe way through the area between the heating elements to efie'ct theseal, and in certain other instances it may be necessary to allow thepackage to remain in contact with the heating elements a longer periodof time or apply a greater amount of heat. For this reason it isnecessary to vary the length of travel of the pushing element asexplained above. If a type of paper is being used which can be sealed bya comparatively short period of heat application, the pusher may beadjusted to run its full length in order to push the package through thearea between the heaters; this is assuming that the length of timerequired to effect a seal of the paper is the same as the length of timerequired for the pushers' to push a package the length of the heatingelements. In cases where a longer period of time is required to heat thepaper and thereby effect a seal thereof, the length of travel of thepusher is shortened so that upon its forward movement it will travelonly far enough to place a package perhaps just within the receivingends of the heaters. When this is done, the package will remain in thatposition during the time the pusher returns to its initial position andpushes another package between the heaters at which time the secondpackage will re-- place the first, while the first package will moveforwardly and approach the ends of the heating elements where it willleave upon the entering of the third package. If the length of timerequired to effect a seal is between these two extremes, the firstpackage maybe moved to the far ends of the heaters. It is to beremembered, however, that regardless of how far the pusher movesforwardly it always returns to the same initial position.

It may be here noted that when the package is raised upwardly on theelevator; it rises with considerable force and to prevent the, packagefrom being thrown into the air, the arms I92 and I93 are provided, whichare secured to either side of certain framework in the machine whichwill be explained hereafter), and are positioned above the elevator inits raised position to prevent the package from being thrown upwardly.These arms are shown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 8.

As the packages leave the area between the heating elements they areforced on to a track I94. At each side of the track are belts spacedapart from each other a distance equal to the length of the package sothat they will contact the ends of said packages and carry themforwardly down the track as the belts m'ove'simuh taneously in thatdirection. These belts at each side of the track pass around pulleys I95and I95 positioned in a horizontal plane on vertical shafts which willrotate in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, so that the innerrun of each belt will move toward the right thus carrying the packagesforward.

At the outer ends of the track I94 are positioned rollers I97 so thatwhen the packages reach this point they will be automatically ejectedthere.- from. Just after the packages leave the conveyor belts, butbefore they reach the rollers I91, they are contacted at either end bycooling coils I98 and I99 also positioned at either side of the machinea distance apart from each other equal to the length of the packagebeing wrapped. These coils may not be necessary in all cases but theyare provided so that the ends of the packages may be cooled before theyare removed from the machine after they leave the heating elements.

It is obviously necessary to provide some means of adjustment wherebyvarious parts of the machine may be adjusted to receive differentlengths of packages. We haveprovided means in our device whereby eachportion of the machine to be adjusted can be done easily and quickly bymerely turning a single crank which is so connected to all of thevarious parts that they will all be adjusted simultaneously.

Due to the varying lengths of packages which maybe wrapped in themachine it will be seen that the side guide members positioned above theplate 4 from whence the package enters the wrapping machine will have tobe adjusted to the length of the package passing therebetween. After thepackage has moved onto the elevator, the tuckers I40 will close and itis necessary that these also be regulated so that the distance betweenthem will be equal to the length of the package. As the package movesupwardly and the ends are folded downwardly it passes between themembers I56, I51, I59 and I59, which also, must be adjusted to receivethe package. Then after the package moves forwardly between the heaters,the conveyor belts, and the cooling coils,

each of these in turn must also be a distance apartequal to the lengthof the package. To facilitate the adjustment of each of these memberssimultaneously so that they will all be adjusted the same distanceapart, we have provided near the forward end of the machine a shaft 200(Fig. 2) 5 which is oppositely screw threaded at either end thereof sothat upon turning the crank 20I at the outer end thereof any elementswhich may be connected to said shaft will be correspondingly movedtoward or away from each other dependlo ing upon the direction in whichthe shaft is rotating. At the opposite end of the machine a similarshaft. 202 is provided which is similarly screw threaded in oppositedirections at either end. Extending between the two shafts 200 and 202are elongated strips of sheet metal '203 and 204. At one end, thesestrips of metal are secured and threaded to the threaded portions of theshaft 202 by means of a bracket 205 which extends downwardly from theends of said strips (Figs. 4 and 5). In a similar manner the oppositeends of the strips 203 and 204 are in threaded engagement with thethreaded portions of the shaft 200 by means of the brackets 205a. At oneside of the machine on the shaft 200 is provided a sprocket wheel 206,and at the same side of the machine secured to the outer end of theshaft 202 is a sprocket wheel 20?. On the same side of the machinesecured tothe frame thereof is a short shaft 200 which has securedthereto a sprocket wheel 209. A sprocket chain 2I0 passes around each ofthe sprocket wheels 206, 201 and 209 so that when the crank 20I on theshaft 200 is rotated, the shaft 200 and the shaft 202 will also berotated to move the chain 2I0 by means of thevarious sprocket wheelsmentioned. The shaft 208 is positioned in the side of the machine and isadapted to be placed in any of a plurality of positions by means of thevarious openings shown at 2| I. This adjustment is merely for thepurpose of regulating the tension upon the chain 2I0. At this point,then, it is evident that upon turning the crank 20I the'strips 203 and209 will be maintained in parallel relationship and will be moved eithertoward or away from each other depending upon the direction of rotationof said crank.

It will also be evident that anything which is mounted upon these stripswill move. with them in a corresponding manner, and for this reasonsevera] of the elements which must be adjusted so that the distancetherebetween will be equal to the length of a package to be wrapped havebeen mounted on these strips 203 and 204 and adapted to move therewithas will presently be described. In Fig. 2 where the arms I92 and I93 areshown, the outer ends of which prevent the package from being thrownupwardly, are mounted by means ofl nks 2I2 to the strips 203 and 204near one end thereof. The members I56 which are positioned 60 on eachside for the purpose of folding the paper downwardly around the ends ofthe package are also secured to the strips 203 and 204 by means of boltsas shown in Fig. 2. Likewise the members I 57 which fold the endsinwardly asthe package is being pushed off of the elevator and themembers I59 which fold the portion I03 upwardly are secured at each sideto the strips 203 and 204. In a similar manner the heating elements I90and I9I, the pulleys I95 and I96 and the cool ng coils I and I99 are allsecured to the strips 203 and 204. When these strips are moved toward oraway from each other by rotation of the crank 20I all of these abovementioned elements will move with said strips and thereby be 7 adjustedto properly receive a package.

' The bearings I69 and H on the pusher member each has extendingoutwardly therefrom a small shaft 2I3, at the outer end of which issecured eithera fiber block or roller 2I4. Immediately below each of therollers 2I4 a channel member 2I5 is secured at one side of and aboveeach of the strips 203 and 204. This construction is clearly shown inFigs. 2 and 8. The rollers 2I4 are adapted to ride between the upturnedportions of the channel member 2I5 and since the bearings I69 and I aremounted loosely on the shaft I65, a movement of the strips 203 and 204toward or away from each other will, by-

means of the channel 2I5 and rollers 2I4, effect a movement toward oraway from each other of the bearings I69 and H0 and consequently theportions I'll and N2 of the pusher member. This adjustment is obviouslynecessary for the purpose of adequately taking care of pushing larger orsmaller packages.

It should be noted at this point that the plate I60, as viewed in Fig. 8has in the center there of a cutout portion 2I6. This opening isprovided in view of the fact that the member I38 on the elevator tablein its upper position will be in direct alinement with the bottom ofsaid plate, and when the pusher is moved forwardly,

this opening allows the plate to pass over said member I38 in order tocontact a side of the are provided at stationary points beneath thelower runs of each of these chains. In Fig. 10 it will be noted that asprocket wheel 2II is secured to a short shaft 2I8 mounted on thecasting which carries the paper in a horizontal direction.

This sprocket wheel is in engagement with the lower run of the chain I83.which actuates the pusher mechanism. This pusher chain support may alsobe viewed in Fig. 10. Also in this figure will be seen the sprocketwheel 2I9 mounted on the shaft I I3 which is in engagement with thelower run of the adjusting chain 2i 0.

There must also be some way in which to laterally adjust the tuckers I40and for this purpose a shaft 22L which is threaded in oppositedirections at each end thereof, extends laterally of the elevator table.Referring now more particularly to Figs. '7, 14 and 15 it will be seenthat an arm 222 is provided at either side of each of the elements I46.One end of each arm 222 passes around and is loosely mounted on theshaft I4I. while the other end of each arm is threaded to the respectiveends of the shaft 22I. Therefore, when the shaft 22I is rotated, thearms 222 will cause a movement of the elements I46, and consequently thetuckers I40, either toward or away from each other depending upon thedirection of rotation of said shaft 22I. In order that the adjustmentbetween these tuckers may be made simultaneously with and throughout thesame distance as all of the other adjustable members previouslymentioned, a sprocket wheel 223 is secured to one end of the shaft 22I.When the elevator is in its raised position as in Fig. 5, the sprocketwheel 223 will be in engagement It will therefore be seen that when thecrank 20I is rotated to cause a movement of the chain 2I0 and aconsequent adjustment of the various parts, by the engagement of thesprocket wheel 223 with the lower run of the chain 2I0 a rotation of theshaft 22I will be effected and consequently a corresponding adjustmentof the tuckers I40.

Before the package reaches the elevator, it is moved upwardly over atable 4 which has extending along either side thereof guide means 224.It is obvious that these guide means also must have some means ofadjustment in order to properly receive packages of various sizes. Itwill be noted in Figs. 4 and 5 that a curved member 225 on each side isconnected at its lower end by means of a rod 226 to one end of the guidemembers 224. At their upper ends the members 225' will be secured to thestrips 203 and 204 and will be moved with said strips when they areactuated for adjusting purposes thereby also effecting a correspondingadjustment of the guide members 224. At the opposite end of the guidemembers 224 similar members 2250. extend upwardly from the ends of theguide members 224 and are in threaded engagement with either end of theadjusting shaft 200. This is obviously so that a rotation of said shaft200 will cause a movement of the said guides 224 simultaneously at eachend thereof. By providing small hand adjusting means 221 adjacent the.upper ends of the member 225a, the outer ends of the guide members 224may be adjusted independently of with the lower run of the adjustingchain 2I0. 7

their opposite ends. Since it is usually desirable to provide a greaterdistance between the outer ends of the guide members 224 than betweenthe inner ends thereof to allow sufficient room for a package to enter,these individual hand adjustments are provided. Also at the inner endsof the guide means compression springs are provided around the rods 226and are adjusted by means of lock nuts on the outer ends thereof. By anadjustment of these nuts, the inner ends of the guide members 224 mayalso be adjusted independently of the rest of the devices if it is sodesired.

It will therefore be evident that when an adjustment becomes necessaryto take care of a longer or shorter package, the elevator 45 will beraised to its upper position to allow the sprocket wheel 223 to engagewith the lower run of the adjusting chain 2I 0. The crank 20I is thenrotated and by means of the mechanism which has been above described,the two shafts 200 and 202 will be rotated causing a movement of thestrips 203 and 204 together with all 'of the elements which areconnected thereto and at the same time a rotation of the shaft 22I willbe effected to cause an adjustment of the tuckers.

After having adjusted the various parts to the proper distance toreceive a predetermined length of package, it will then be determinedthe length of a piece of paper to completely wrap said package. Thisadjustment is made, as above explained, by rotating the crank 96 (Fig.10) which will either lengthen or shorter the distance through which thegear segment 82 passes and consequently the length of paper which passesover the drum 65.

After this adjustment has been made it then remains to determine,according to the type of paper used, the length of time required for thewrapped package to remain in contact with the heating elements I and I9Iin order to effect a sealing of the ends of said package. This

